Multilingual
by Lennox13
Summary: Artemis never thought much went on in Wally's head. Well, besides science and generating enough lame pickup lines to drive her insane. So, when he surprises her by being able to speak her home language, airhead Wally suddenly becomes a mystery. Slight AU. Obvious Spitfire.
1. Chapter 1

**Trying my hand at writing.**

 **We all know Robin and Superboy can speak a lot of languages. However, it always made more sense to me for Wally, who could actually use all the languages as he ran through countries, to be able to speak multiple languages. Also, with his increased mental processing speed, picking up a language (no matter how bad he might be at learning languages) would take him a fraction of the time it would most normal people.**

 **So, this is AU, but only slightly. I tried to squeeze the story in the actual timeline of the show.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice or DC Comics or whatever else. Anything you recognise? I don't own it.**

* * *

1.

Undisclosed location  
September 25 (After 'Alpha Male'; before 'Revelation')

* * *

Arrows.

 _Why_? was the question on Artemis' mind as the hired mercenary dodged a hastily fired arrow.

Why on earth did she pick _arrows_ of all things to be her weapon of choice?

Sure, she knew why. Technically. They were precise, controlled – everything she wanted for a weapon meant to maim at the most.

But it was times when MercNumberWhoCares pulled out a machine gun, that she really wished for something… a bit more substantial.

Yes, life was unfair, but it irked her. No? It angered her.

Truthfully, it scared her – the desire she sometimes had to just pull out one of her less friendly arrows and shoot the random killer in an eye. Frightful to think of how easy it would be to take out criminals with the mere push of a button.

 _Or you know what? Some superpowers would be nice too_ , she thought angrily as she ducked and rolled behind a crate, seconds before a barrage of bullets turned the spot where she had stood into a maelstrom of dust and debris.

The merc's aim shifted, following to where she now hid, without lifting his hand off the trigger. Bullets thudded against wood.

Artemis looked down at her bleeding hand and quickly pulled a piece of emergency tape from a side pocket. Whilst wrapping her drawing hand, Artemis took quick stock of her surroundings, searching for an exit and waiting for the merc to run out of bullets.

Maybe it was the adrenaline, but her ears heard the empty click, her mind winced at the sharp pain from her hand and her eyes spotted the faded label of the convenient crate: x-sive. Strange how, to her perception, everything happened at once.

 _Huh_? She thought, almost lazily, her mind trying to process multiple sensory inputs at the same time.

 _Oh_ , she silently mouthed as realisation dawned.

Before she could utter anything more appropriate, her ears pricked. Instead of reloading his machine gun, the merc had chosen a different toy from his arsenal. One with a very distinctive sound – the reason why Batman had sent the Team on the recon mission in the first place.

Recently, more and more lone thugs and street gangs had been showing up armed with energy based weapons that emitted a high-pitched, yet melodic sound as they were charged. The oh-so-creative media people had dubbed them 'Nightingales', and though they were nothing exceptional, the unbelievably low price combined with the shocking quantity of weapons available, made for a destructive result.

And now Artemis was literally in a corner behind a crate full of explosives armed with arrows. Yay….

 _Smoke arrow, foam arrow, flash arrow, magnet arrow, net arrow… explosive arrow._

Unfortunately, she had used her two zip-line arrows to enter the manufacturing plant. Not that there was anything to attach them to in the concrete basement she was currently in, anyway.

Resigned to her fate, Artemis stuck her rebreather in her mouth, pulled out her foam arrow and closed her eyes.

And opened them.

Wally's bright green eyes were way too close and without being able to see the rest of his face, she knew he was wearing that cocky grin. "You called?" he drawled, putting her down. She found she was now two levels up from where she had been, on one of the floors the Team had already cleared.

Angrily, she pulled out her rebreather and wiped her mouth, to give her mind a moment to go from praising the heavens that she didn't have to wash that disgusting foam out of her hair again and back to snarky, sarcastic Artemis. "I didn't," was the best she could come up with.

Strange enough, Wally frowned at that. "I know. And I also know you are more than capable of handling things, but there's a reason why we're psychically linked."

Artemis' mind reeled. So used to Wally being, well, Wally, it threw her for a loop when he actually said something without flirting, joking, or joking flirtatiously.

She was saved from responding when Robin's voice resounded at the front of her mind. We've gotta go. I have all the data; erased everything they had. And we're starting to attract more attention than we should.

When yet another tremor shook the building and the floor rumbled beneath their feet, Artemis amended Robin's statement. We're way past starting. Honestly, it was only due to Batman and Robin's superb computer skills, that the (covert) Team of prodigies were still relatively secret.

"By the way, how good is your Vietnamese?" Wally asked out of the blue whilst checking his small wrist computer.

The abruptness of the question was likely the only reason why she answered him truthfully. "Fluently. I speak it at home."

Immediately, Wally's head shot up, his eyes lighting up like a kid's at Christmas. Or maybe it was just the reflection of the (switched off) computer.

"Wait. How did-. "

 _"Great! Practice with me some time? I mean, I visit Vietnam sometimes to freshen up, but it's such a drag to go all the way. And my allowance is kind of iffy,_ _if you know what I mean. Actually, I just spend it on Chemistry stuff. But food. I'm gonna pick you up now, 'kay?_ "

Artemis dutifully nodded, mind completely blank.

Before she could blink, they were outside the factory and inside the bioship. Mechanically, she walked over to her seat and sat down, thankful that the seatbelts enveloped her automatically. She did not think her mind ready to perform such a complicated task just yet. When a worried M'gann brushed against her consciousness, she sent back acceptance.

/You okay?/ M'gann asked privately. /Are you hurt?/

/I'm fine. Just tired, I guess./ She responded, making sure to keep her thoughts light at the forefront of her consciousness.

M'gann probably sensed that something was bothering her, but she respectfully retreated from Artemis' mind.

Artemis was okay, though. Really. She was just having trouble with the fact that Wally ( _Wally?!_ ) had just had a perfectly normal conversation with her. Except, of course, for where it was done in near-fluent Vietnamese.

* * *

 **This fic is working its way to 'Misplaced'. If you speak a foreign language that you feel Wally would know or should know if he ever visited your country, please comment and leave a translation for "Protect them" which is the instruction he repeats in English, French, and Mandarin (I believe) respectively.**

 **Thanks so much for reading! If there are any corrections, suggestions or other ideas you would like to see in a fic, please don't hesitate to tell me.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you maggiehhillman for the review!**

* * *

Mount Justice  
October 8 (After 'Revelation'; before 'Humanity)

To say Artemis was intrigued would be an understatement. To say she was _mildly_ intrigued would be a straight-up, downright lie.

Hmmh, she totally understood Robin's problem with the English language sometimes. Straight-up? Downright? Gosh.

But that wasn't the point. The point was that after Wally's request nearly a week ago, she was having trouble _not_ thinking about him because suddenly he wasn't just the idiot Kid Flirt anymore. No, now he had gone and become a freakin' mystery. Artemis was not the type to leave any mystery unsolved and she was sure that given enough time, she would figure it out eventually. However, she kept trying to stop herself from thinking about Wally, since she was still convinced by merely turning her thoughts in his general direction her IQ lowered a few notches.

Easiest, of course, would just be to ask the Boy Wonder. They were best friends after all and admittedly, the kid knew everything. But that idea went to the graveyard immediately. Bringing Wally up in a conversation with Robin would be like throwing oil on a fire. No doubt he would read the wrong thing into it and would constantly pester her about her 'interest' in Wally. Or worse, he could tell Wally she asked about him. The obnoxious guy had a big enough head already.

 _Idiot,_ she mentally sneered at the unbidden image of Wally that immediately popped up in her mind. But how did he even know she spoke Vietnamese? She knew she didn't have an accent, she hadn't told him her surname and sure, she had some Asian features, but nothing that prominently screamed 'Vietnamese-girl right here!'

 _Troi oi!_

She mentally attempted to tear her mind away from Wally and stopped dead in her tracks halfway to the kitchen. Oh, so maybe that's how! Artemis' shoulders relaxed, and her spine straightened. Maybe during a mental uplink, she'd sworn in Vietnamese or something. Still didn't explain how _he_ knew how to speak it.

One mystery solved, Artemis continued to the kitchen with a bit more purpose in her stride. It was a Friday night, so she was staying over at the mountain for the weekend. M'gann would not outright say it, but even though Artemis was probably the last person to ask when seeking out the company of another female, M'gann truly enjoyed having a girlfriend with whom she could be herself.

Artemis snickered internally at a mental picture of Megan's cheerleading squad reacting to the revelation that they had a Martian in their midst. Not to judge M'gann's choice of friends, but from what she'd seen of them when reluctantly being dragged to one of M'gann's practice drills, they were quite comfortable playing the rolls of the perfect cheerleader stereotype.

She paused momentarily, listening for occupants in the kitchen, before rounding the final corner. She had only heard the muffled hum of the oven and dishes clanking, so she had wrongly assumed that the kitchen's only occupant would be M'gann. To her surprise and regret, Kid Mouth was there too.

Surprisingly, the jab at his ridiculous name was not appropriate this time because he was silent for a change. And not the 'busy-stuffing-his-face' kind of silent. He seemed to be having a rather involved mental conversation with the Martian girl if the animated hand-waving and enthusiastic gesturing were anything to go by. He looked ridiculous only being able to point with one arm since the other was still trapped in a cast. Artemis suspected that Kid Fumble was faking the severity of the injury since she was not totally ignorant of speedster capabilities. Accelerated healing came along with the infamous metabolism.

Behind the kitchen island, M'gann was washing dishes telekinetically and physically checking the oven when Artemis entered. When she turned around and spotted the archer quietly attempting to exit what appeared to be a warped version of reality, M'gann immediately smiled.

"Oh, hi, Artemis! Just in time. The cookies are almost ready."

Artemis shot her a doubtful smile in return. She honestly didn't understand how it was possible for the Martian to be so utterly horrible at baking, but hopefully, practice made perfect. However, at M'gann's current skill level, the only person able to consume her either too raw, too cooked or too… flavourful creations without going into a state of mild shock was Wally.

Perhaps she was projecting her emotions too loudly because M'gann immediately waved her hands and shook her head. "No, don't worry! They're going to be perfect this time. Wally's aunt sent me the recipe and he supervised the entire time." She smiled down at the ginger.

"Anything for you, sweetcheeks," he said, flirt dripping from his voice. Artemis merely rolled her eyes at the idiot's antics. When was he going to realise that M'gann and Conner were a thing? "And you should take them out right now," he added.

M'gann frowned, looking at a scrap of paper hovering in front of her nose. "But the recipe says 20 minutes and the timer hasn't gone off yet." She checked the timer just to make sure. "There's still four minutes left."

"Yes, I know, but I think your oven might be a bit hotter than my aunt's." He zipped over to the oven, the warm light bathing his face in its glow. "The tops are already browned. See? So, you know the outside is going to be crunchy, but the inside is going to be just a lil' bit gooey, which is the perfect way for a cookie to be."

"If you say so," M'gann stared at the trays a second longer before reluctantly using her telekinesis to open the oven door and pull out the hot objects. She set them on the counter and Wally poked one with a finger.

"They look awesome, Megalicious."

She grinned at him, pride evident on her face. "Thanks for your help, Wally."

"No probs." He checked his wristwatch. "Hate to bake and run, but I'm gonna be late for dinner if I don't go now."

M'gann immediately protested. "But you haven't even tried a cookie!"

"I'll take some for the road. But hey, more snacks for your girls-plus-Supey movie night." Wally gestured to Artemis and vaguely waved in the direction of the living room where Conner was no doubt watching static.

M'gann immediately brightened at the thought, bright eyes darting to catch Artemis', who begrudgingly nodded, agreeing yet again to another unplanned movie night. Hopefully, just a girls' movie night, though, because she would loathe being the third wheel. Again. She really had to learn to say no to M'gann, otherwise, that English lit essay was never going to get written.

"Anyway, have a good night, enjoy the cookies and," he paused and focused his attention on M'gann. "May L'zoril give you good dreams?" He said as if it was a question.

M'gann nodded enthusiastically, practically glowing, and said some incomprehensible gibberish to which Wally replied with some equally incomprehensible gibberish. Well, at least incomprehensible to Artemis, because they seemed to be communicating quite clearly.

After some more gibberish, M'gann ended with, "And thank your aunt for the recipe."

"Will do," he promised and grabbed a handful of the cookies off the tray. He called a, 'See ya later. Bye, Arty!' before disappearing with a gust of wind. Perhaps she was coming down with something, because she couldn't even muster the strength to be annoyed by the use of that hated nickname, much less bother yelling an insult to the already gone speedster.

Artemis went over to the kitchen island and pulled out a chair, inspecting the cookies lined up before her. To try or not to try… that is the question. She looked up and M'gann's expectant face beamed with delight. Fudge, question answered. At least she had the weekend to recover if she ended up with food poisoning or something.

But the cookies looked perfectly browned and the chocolate chips, white, milk and dark, ridiculously melty. Due to M'gann using her telekinesis, all the cookies were also almost exactly the same size. Not even a machine could get them more precise. Unfortunately, this meant that Artemis could not take the smallest one and call it a day.

She reached for one of the closest ones and bit into it. "Oh gosh, M'gann, these are sooooo good," Artemis all but moaned, the perfect blend of crunch and gooey, bitter and sweet sending her taste buds to heaven.

"They are?" M'gann squealed, clapping her hands together. "I can't wait to have Conner try them!"

Trying to force her brain to surface from where it was currently submerged in cookie nirvana, she made her mouth speak instead of taking another bite. "What was that whole thing with Wally about?" There. Said it. Yay, more cookie!

"Well," M'gann sounded thoughtful. "A while ago he asked me to teach him some of the language we speak on Mars in exchange for baking and cooking lessons. The language is primarily spoken mentally, but he's progressing quite quickly. And then he got interested in our religion and we were just discussing the similarities between some of the deities we have on Mars and those worshiped by different Earth races. Wally thinks there might have been some form of contact long ago because my religion reminds him of the Ancient Greek and Atlantean religions."

Artemis blinked and stopped chewing. Then blinked some more and swallowed.

"Oh."

Unperturbed by Artemis' bland reaction, M'gann carried on babbling excitedly about movies and popcorn and Conner's approval.

Artemis continued nodding and agreeing where necessary, but inside she was a wheeling whirlpool of what-the-heck!? Could he speak Martian too?

* * *

 **Okay, seems this will be 4 chapters.**

 **Thanks so much for reading! Please let me know of any mistakes that I can fix.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thankyou slyside and inthenightguest for your reviews! Also, namifishy, I have followed your advice and changed the supposed 'Vietnamese' to italics and will continue to do this from now on. Thank you for the suggestion and the encouragement!**

* * *

3.

Mount Justice  
October 9 (Before 'Humanity')

Saturday morning, Artemis woke up far later than she had planned. The clock on her bedside table blinked sluggishly, announcing that it was currently 10:16. _But occasionally, it was alright to indulge a bit_ , she placated herself and snuggled deeper into her pillow. And anyway, it was worth it – staying up so late. She and M'gann had a girl's movie night, and she ended up enjoying the romantic comedy M'gann had chosen much more than she expected.

The past few weeks had been way too stressful, and juggling three separate lives were undoubtedly taking their toll. Luckily, she no longer had her literature essay to worry about, since M'gann had offered to help her when the movie was over. With her brain relaxed from a mixture of good company and chocolate chip cookies, the essay was much easier than anticipated. Of course, M'gann's surprisingly extensive knowledge of Earth literature also didn't hurt.

After eventually getting up and a quick morning (or rather, afternoon) workout, Artemis blitzed a smoothie without really acknowledging what she was throwing into it. With enough peanut butter, any ingredient could be masked. So even though the result was a suspicious purple concoction with a green tinge, it still tasted of banana and peanut butter. It was safe to say, the kitchen wasn't a place she spent much time in.

For the rest of the weekend, her schedule was refreshingly clear. She knew that there were no planned missions, but that could change at any moment. Black Canary had taken the weekend off, which meant no official training and therefore, Kaldur had decided to visit Atlantis for a change.

Artemis could not even begin to imagine what it must be like for him, adapted especially for the water, to spend so much time on the surface. She appreciated it, of course, since she knew he did it for the Team and to increase morale. However, if she itched uncomfortably from merely donning a civilian outfit… Her heart swelled with admiration.

Gosh, this whole setup was making her soft. She shook the mush out of her head and took the last swig of her smoothie, ending with a burst of _apricot?_ flavour in her mouth. Strange, she didn't remember adding any….

Washed and dried, she placed her glass back in the cupboard and made sure the kitchen was spotless before heading towards the common area in search of a sparring partner.

When she neared the main cavern, her ears picked up the sound of voices. She immediately recognised Wally's loud babbling, but she was surprised to also hear Kaldur's steady baritone.

Well, Artemis was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, since with Kaldur she could spar with someone on her level. Wally tended to rely on his speed too much. He wasn't a bad fighter. He regularly sparred with Robin, so she knew he had technique. However, he struggled to choose one mode – either he sped up, was deadly for a few hair-breadth seconds and then fumbled, or he focused so hard on slowing down and being precise, was deadlier than some assassins she knew, but he had to give up spatial awareness, making him weak against multiple opponents.

To her disappointment, Kaldur was not physically in the room when she entered, but on the projected display. She assumed, by the look of the architecture in the background, that he was still in Atlantis, merely in a separate room with air since there was no audio distortion. Yet, for the life of her, Artemis could not make out the words they were speaking. Perhaps there was some water in _her_ ears.

Artemis subconsciously tugged at an earlobe before announcing herself. "Hey, Kaldur. How's Atlantis?" She came to a stop before the screening, acknowledging Wally's presence with a cordial nod and quirk of her lips.

"Good afternoon, Artemis. I hope that you are well." Always with the pleasantries, that one, Artemis thought, amused, but nodded in response. "I am finding my trip most relaxing, thank you. However, I miss the cave."

It was merely a hint, but Artemis had the feeling that Kaldur, like her, was starting to feel more at home in Mount Justice and around the Team. They were, after all, a bunch of misfits – an acrobatic genius, an Atlantean, an alien, a clone, a lightning rod and, although it was her secret to keep, the daughter of two assassins. It was strange feeling that she purposefully did not dwell upon.

Suddenly, there was a commotion off-camera and Kaldur ducked out of view for a second. When he returned, two others joined him – a boy and a girl. They both appeared to be Kaldur's age, however, Artemis wasn't too sure how well she could judge Atlantean biology. The girl had short orange hair that framed a sweet face and the boy had dark hair, sharp eyes and carried himself with an extra dose of pride in his spine.

The girl's eyes widened in surprise when she spotted Wally. She quickly turned to the other newcomer and whispered something behind her hand. The male's mouth hardened into a thin line and a muscle in his cheek jumped once. Twice.

Artemis sneaked a glance at Wally. What on earth could he have done to deserve such a reaction?

Wally, in contrast, wore a face-splitting grin, clearly enjoying their reaction way too much. She was just about to forewarn him to watch his tongue since she did not want to piss off the Atlanteans and cause an international dispute or something, but before she could, he opened his big mouth. And, for what seemed to be happening more often than not, she could not understand a word of what he was saying.

On-screen, Kaldur sighed and responded in the same foreign language, probably telling Kid to shut up or his friends to ignore the blithering fool. The girl nodded, begrudgingly, and gave a tentative smile, whilst the guy merely gave a curt nod. Kid Flash also nodded, before speaking again. This time, they seemed to be looking at him more attentively. He suddenly gestured at Artemis and she recognised her name.

Was he introducing her? Probably. Because the girl made eye-contact and hesitantly enunciated, "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Artemis. My name is Tula." She pointed to the guy next to her, who gave a slight bow in Artemis' general direction. "This is Garth."

"I, too, am pleased to meet another of Kaldur's _friends."_ The emphasis on 'friends' and the scathing glare in Wally's direction made it clear that Garth did not approve of a certain ' _friend'._

Artemis decided she liked him. Smiling warmly, she waved at them. "Nice to meet you guys too." She made sure to round her words carefully. She knew, from experience, that learning a foreign language and actually speaking it or hearing it from native speakers, were vastly different things.

Having exhausted the extent of his English ability, Garth switched to his native tongue. A question, she assumed, reading his facial cues.

Wally answered.

Wait.

That word. It sounded familiar.

Her brain quickly cast a net through her memories. _Archer!_ Wally had just used the Greek word for 'Archer'.

When she was really little, right after her sister abandoned her and her mother, Artemis had gone through a bit of a Wonder Woman phase. Obviously, now she cringed whenever she found some of her old artworks and notebooks, her admiration for the female superhero evident in all of them, but it was only understandable for little Artemis to grab for and cling to the only female role model that seemed a constant at the time.

Anyway, during her phase, Artemis stubbornly tried to learn Greek, since Wonder Woman was Greek. The origins of her own name also fuelled the fire. She didn't get very far, though. She still remembered some words, like the Greek words for 'archer', 'woman' and 'book', and if pressed, she could express extreme admiration for someone's sword skills.

 _What_? Even as a child, Artemis had her priorities straight.

So, yes. It wasn't too unusual to know a few words or phrases in another language. Everyone knew at least one or two Latin phrases, and that was a near-dead language, after all. But, what confounded Artemis and twisted her brain into little knots like an elaborate pretzel, was how Wally was speaking Greek, or rather, Atlantean, as if he had been born to it?

She almost missed it when Garth said something, lost in her thoughts as she was. It was clearly directed at her, but she had no clue what he was saying.

Luckily, Wally translated for her. "I told them what you can do. He says it is an honour to meet one of the surface's warriors." What could she do other than smile politely?

Tula touched Kaldur's shoulder, said something and gestured towards the left.

"They don't like me very much, since last time we had a disagreement over the exact nature of their 'magic'," Wally whispered quickly to Artemis, whilst Tula and Kaldur were speaking.

Well, then Tula and Garth's initial reaction were not at all surprising. Wally saw it as his civic duty to vehemently protest any form of magic, which would be alright if he kept his delusions to himself, but he also had to 'enlighten' anyone who disagreed with his view of the world. He, no doubt, stubbornly tried to force a scientific explanation of their abilities upon the two Atlanteans, and they'd understandably taken offense.

Artemis refocused her attention on Kaldur when he switched to English once more. "Apologies, but my king has need of me. I must attend to my duties. However, Wally, Artemis," he nodded to each in turn. "Thank you for checking in. If no missions suddenly arise, I shall see you on Monday."

"Bye, Kaldur!"

"See you," Artemis responded before the signal cut out. She stared at the empty air a second longer, trying to either contain her burning curiosity or find a way of phrasing a question that would not sound like she was desperate for an answer.

Throwing caution to the wind, she turned to confront Wally with something along the lines of _what the heck was that!?_ but the thoughtful frown on his face as he stared intensely at where Aqualad's image had been, granted her a moment of clarity.

Instead, she asked, "Something wrong?"

"Hmmh?" Wally blinked at her. "Oh. No. Nothing wrong. It's just, my Atlantean is a bit rusty."

"Isn't it just really Greek?" There. She was fishing for answers but sounded nonchalant. Win-win. Inside, Artemis did a mini-victory dance.

Wally's frown deepened once more. "Sort of. Atlantean might have originated from Ancient Greek, but of course, due to Atlantis' isolation, there has been a lot of changes. If you know Ancient Greek or even Modern Greek, there is some mutual intelligibility, but especially the Atlantean phonology has changed a lot over time to accommodate being spoken underwater. They also have many customs and cultural set phrases that I'm never too sure about. And I don't practice it enough since I can't just run to Atlantis for a day or something."

"Makes sense," Artemis mused, plastering a look on her face which hopefully made it appear as if she understood everything Wally had uttered. It still didn't explain why he knew how to speak it though. The list of languages in Wally's repertoire was quickly expanding and Artemis didn't know if she was freaking out or merely stunned. Her world was being turned upside down. If she couldn't count on Wally to be Kid Idiot, what could she truly be sure of in life?

"It's actually pretty fascinating." Wally's voice sped up and rose a bit with excitement. His eyes were literally glittering as he continued speaking about a subject close to his heart. "I would love to investigate how the Greek in Themyscira differs from Atlantean, as well as Ancient and Modern Greek since the Amazons have also remained isolated from the world of man for so long. Atlantean has a massive amount of water-related neologisms, so what with the warrior culture on Themyscira, I think there would be a lot of focus on like weaponry, strategy, battle prowess. Things like that, you know? But men aren't allowed, so…." Wally shrugged, managing to look both disappointed and excited at the same time.

"Lucky them," Artemis quipped, with a quirk of her lips. "Wanna spar?" Perhaps if she beat Wally at hand-to-hand a few times, it would make her feel better and save some of her self-esteem.

"No powers?" Wally whined, going from intelligent to annoying in a nanosecond.

Good. Annoying Wally she could handle. "No powers," she confirmed and couldn't help the borderline sadistic smile that spread across her face.

Wally's eyes widened comically. "You know what, I think I might have some Chemistry homework..." He cupped a hand around his right ear and took a quick step back. "What's that?" Pause. "And an essay to write for English, you say?"

Artemis rolled her eyes at his antics. "Come on scaredy-cat. We can spar in Vietnamese."

He grinned at her. " _Now you speak my language_ ," he replied.

In Vietnamese, of course.

* * *

 **Any suggestions/corrections are welcome. Thanks so much for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Last chapter!**

 **Thanks so much for reading this! Thanks for everyone who favourited and followed, and thank you slyside, inthenightguest and LadyNoir1987 for taking the time to review. It meant the world to me!**

 **LadyNoir1987: Like you, due to copious amounts of fanfiction, I was under the impression that Robin was Rromani (Romania is a country, Romani is a people - Romanian is a Romance language and the languages of the Romani people are actually closer related to Hindi (I think)). Anyway, Dick Grayson is a 1/4 Romani but grew up in America. According to my research, at most, Dick knew some Romani sayings - think of it like your parents have a different first language, but you grew up as a monolingual English speaker - you will still know how to swear right alongside your parents. ;) I really wanted to work in some Robin/KF fluff, but I tried to actually keep it canon (haha, fanfiction). Thanks for asking, though, and I hope the tiny hint at Robin/KF fluff appeases you.**

* * *

Mount Justice  
November 5 ('Misplaced' elaboration/AU)

Icy water splashed across her face, causing goose bumps to pebble up Artemis' arms. It didn't help the pounding headache just behind her eyes, but the water succeeded in chasing some of the fog from her mind. She needed coffee. Extra strong coffee.

With wet fingers, she combed her thick blonde hair back and snapped an elastic tightly around a ponytail. Lastly, she pulled her mask up and took a deep breath. Her reflection stared at her with vacant eyes. Honestly, the lack of adults didn't affect her personally as much as it did the others. But if she had to see one more tear streaked toddler, desperately seeking to be tucked in by a parent, she was going to scream.

Wincing at her thoughts, which sounded more selfish than she intended, the image that truly tested her breaking point flashed behind her eyes: Wally, a toothy grin swallowing his face, playing tag with a gaggle of kids ranging from toddler to teen. Wally, laughing, tripping on purpose so that a disabled girl in a wheelchair could tag the top of his fiery head. Wally, with thunder in his eyes, because his family was missing and there was nothing he could do about it. Wally, with hands that clenched whenever he thought nobody was looking, cracking a joke a split-second later to make a tentative smile bloom on the face of a little boy Connor had found in an empty house. Artemis had lightly bandaged the same boy's arm minutes before where a nasty second-degree burn, caused by boiling water splashing from a dropped kettle, would no doubt leave a scar. The little boy couldn't be more than five but refused to cry even though Artemis knew how much burns hurt.

Now, back in Mount Justice, they were all getting ready in their respective rooms to take the fight to the root of whatever the hell this was. Magic. She could not help the acrid metallic tang of hate that stained the back of her mouth. Suddenly, she saw Wally's protests in a new light. It was difficult to fight against something you didn't understand.

Speaking of… after this was all over, she could not wait to hear Wally explain his way out of this one.

The red light of the intercom flashed above her door. A call to arms. Artemis left to answer.

Standing in the centre of the mission room, Robin ruffled a hand through his hair. By the state of the well-developed crow's nest on top of his head, he must have been doing it a lot. No doubt exhausted and frustrated, yet he still had a job to do. In front him, the Team waited. Artemis walked over to join the rest of them.

She gave them all a subtle once-over, checking for injuries. Just a bunch of tired teenagers in colourful costumes. If the villains could see them now. But they were ready to risk their lives nonetheless. Only Robin was still in civilian clothes.

"Okay…." Robin trailed off, momentarily losing track of his thoughts. His eyes flickered to Aqualad, who reassured him with a smile. Robin was to take point on this mission briefing, stepping up to fill Batman's still-too-big boots. A mission that hinged on the slight possibility that Zatanna would be able to figure out and recreate her father's spell.

"Okay," he started again, this time with more confidence, and took a deep breath. "We have personally established refugee centres in most of the major cities across the US. I have contacted all the other teenage metas, magicians, small-time heroes on Batman's watchlist and they have also formed assembly points in their respective countries and cities. I have hacked all the Justice League satellites, so whilst Zatanna-" he nods at her back across the room, where she furiously rewound and replayed the clip of her father- "figures out where this magic originated from, we need to get a message out to the rest of the world to give hope and some semblance of control."

"Understood," Aqualad's voice was steady and calm, yet he was unable to hide the weary lines pulling taut around his eyes. "Once we are done with the recording, I would like to continue trying to reach Atlantis. We need help to check for boats lost at sea and although our magic is vastly different, perhaps some of the Atlantean magicians could offer Zatanna some assistance."

"I'll take all the help I can get!" Zatanna called over her shoulder whilst the recording rewound for what felt like the hundredth time.

Robin's hand strayed towards his hair again, but he caught himself just in time. "Thank you," he directed at Aqualad. He turned to the display that was hovering behind him, his agile fingers flying over the screen, opening and closing tabs. "I have typed out a basic draft of what needs to be said. Aqualad, Kid Flash and I will record the message since we're the heroes the world is most familiar with."

His eyes scanned the room once, making eye-contact with each of the young heroes in turn. "Alright, let's go." Robin turned to the main screen and pulled up the video recorder.

"Hey, Rob," Kid Flash sped over to his friend and draped an arm around his shoulders. Subtly shifting the younger hero away from the main screen, he gave Rob a small push towards the sleeping quarters. "You might want to go change first," Kid remarked with a small smile.

"I was on my way," Robin grumbled, but instead of sounding angry or annoyed, he sounded more like a disgruntled toddler woken from a nap. Not that Artemis would ever point it out.

Whilst Robin changed into his uniform and Zatanna continued working on her spell, the rest of the team went to make coffee. Well, minus Kid Flash. He stared longingly at the steaming cup of liquid energy M'gann offered him, but shook his head. He needed calories, not empty stimulants.

Sipping on her hot drink, which was just a bit too sweet and extra milky, warmth and awareness slowly seeped back into her body. Together with M'gann and Conner, she sat at the kitchen island and stared as Wally concocted the most chocolatey hot chocolate in the history of chocolate. Made with chocolate chips and half a dozen scoops of chocolate flavoured protein powder, the drink was a massive, gooey mess. He gulped it down in seconds.

Robin, having changed into his uniform, suddenly appeared next to them. The little ninja. "Any for me?"

It took all her training to not reflexively jump a foot into the air as his voice sounded next to her. Mechanically, Artemis shoved his cup towards him. Black with three sugars. Yuck.

"Let's get started then," Aqualad, ever the voice of reason, called everyone to action. A cup of green tea in his hand, he pushed himself away from the doorframe and headed back to the main mission room. Like little ducklings, the rest of the team dutifully followed.

Positioning themselves at Aqualad's flanks, Robin and Kid Flash completed the image that would be broadcasted to the world. The original trio - kids stepping up to volunteer for the weight of the world.

Robin began recording.

"Attention, children and teenagers of Earth. I am Aqualad. These are my friends, Robin and Kid Flash…."

The tiny hairs all over her body stood to attention. Even she, the normally unflappable Artemis, could not deny the sheer epic-ness of the moment.

"We are using Justice League tech to cast and stream to every TV, radio, computer, and smartphone on the planet."

"We know you must be scared and angry. We know that with your parents missing there's a temptation to run wild. But please, stay calm."

"We will find a way to bring the adults back. But for now, the oldest among you must step up."

"Take care of your younger siblings. Take care of kids who have no-one."

As if at an invisible cue, Aqualad stepped back, allowing Kid Flash to step forward.

"Protect them." Kid Flash had never sounded more serious. His eyes were intense, emeralds set in stone, almost like he was willing his order to echo within the minds of every child who heard it. As if he was personally speaking to each and every individual left on the planet. His voice was steel, filled with utter conviction.

Artemis could only stare in admiration. She might have been training since she could walk, but KF knew people – he knew how to connect with that inner part of a person that yearned to be a hero. Kid Flash inspired people.

"… _Protège_ - _les_. …"

French. With no less confidence. Artemis' eyes threatened to swallow her face whole.

 _"…_ _Baohu tamen. …"_

Mandarin.

 _"…_ _Beschützen sie. …"_

German.

 _*"… himayatiha…"_

A mystery.

 _*"… Protegelos…"_

Spanish.

 _*"… unakee raksha karen …"_

She could not even hope to guess.

 _*"… kuwahifadhi…"_

Was he making words up?

"It is up to you."

The recording ended. A moment of silence stretched through the cavern like taffy.

Artemis couldn't help it. "You speak German?" Her voice, slightly shrill, shattered through the quiet. Her brain had decided to fixate on that little nugget for some unfathomable reason and spat it out before she could reign it in.

Somehow, French didn't surprise her. She could just imagine Kid studying French just for flirting purposes. German, though. What would be his motivation for that?

"Of course," Kid Flash almost seemed offended, his lips pulling to one side as if he'd tasted something foul. "It's one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. And anyone who's serious about science at least knows some German." He made it sound as if the ability to speak a different language was like learning how to walk – instinctual, obvious; like the need to know another language was a necessity or like breathing – self-explanatory.

Artemis was literally at a loss for words.

Robin worked on some techy stuff to get the video broadcasting in a loop and Aqualad had already faded into the background, presumably still trying to contact Atlantis.

"Done and done," Robin announced, his voice breaking through her reverie. He tapped the last button with a flourish. Behind him played a muted version of the video the trio had just recorded.

"Wally, I need you to see if you can reach out to your contacts in South Africa. I've gotten a few responses from contacts in Asia, and there's a water-based meta helping control runaway fires in Australia. Russia is off the grid for some reason. I believe they had protocols in place or something. Africa, though, the rioting, looting, violence… it makes the Gotham slums look like a stroll in the park." Horrific posts from desperate children flicked across the centre screen. "We can't spare anyone to send there- "

An image of a shopping district popped onto the screen. Kristallnacht came to mind.

"-but if we can somehow establish a safe zone- "

A short video opened. The quality was grainy, but the burning car could easily be identified. And so could the muted thumps and screams from inside. Robin switched the screen to a social media engine before they could see the end.

"-it's the best we can do."

"Sure thing," Kid Flash's voice broke, trembling. With horror? Rage? Fear? Artemis could only guess, assuming it was a cocktail of the same emotions that had made her breath hitch somewhere between her ribs. "I'm on it." He sped off.

Artemis watched him go, wishing that she could run away from her own mind as easily as he disappeared from the room. M'gann was nowhere in sight and Artemis hoped the sensitive Martian had left before the last of the images. By the morose way Superboy was glaring at his feet and Robin's rigid posture, it was safe to assume their thoughts were filled with the same heated darkness. She could only imagine what it would feel like to have to deal with everyone else's emotions as well as her own.

The Boy Wonder was still reading through strings of posts and pleas. Why did he feel the need to punish himself?

Swallowing a frustrated scream, Artemis stepped up to the screen and closed it. "There's nothing you can do for them." It came out harsher than she expected, but harshness was what he needed. Probably just firmness. But with her own thoughts in turmoil, that was the best she could offer. "Rather focus on what you can do, as in, fixing the world." She didn't know if that was any better. It seemed too blasé. _Hey, forget about the little people, think about the bigger picture._ She didn't particularly like that way of thinking.

To distract him and to finally satisfy her own burning curiosity, she bluntly asked, "How is he able to speak so many languages?" There. It seemed almost funny how painless it was. Her brain was too tired for subtlety and she was way past being frustrated. The past few weeks had been killer – literally – and all she wanted was a warm shower, a soft bed, and a straight answer.

Robin tore his gaze from the screen and tried to smile. "Impressive, isn't it?" He merely succeeded in looking as if someone had stepped on his cat. Giving him a few moments to gather the broken pieces reflected within his eyes, Artemis waited patiently for her answer. Usually, Robin's poker face was impeccable, but clearly, even the _Batman's_ protégé was starting to crack. Still, it was only because she'd spent too much time with the younger boy and her own fractured reflection, that she could see the subtle signs.

A deep breath later, and the mask slipped back into place. Robin shrugged, all too happy to move on to a different topic. Any other topic. "It's simply another benefit of living life in the fast lane, I guess. He's naturally smart; only a science prodigy would be able to recreate the Flash's experiment at thirteen from the notes of that absentminded man." Artemis heard the fond smile behind the words.

"But the languages thing only really became of consequence once he could literally visit every country in the world within a day. It's a necessity for a speedster, to be honest. I mean, what if he got stuck in a different country during a mission? Or accidentally overshot a location by a country or two? It would help to be able to speak the language."

Artemis nodded mostly to herself, internalising the newfound information. That made sense. If she could easily pick up more languages, she most certainly would. The possibilities it offered for covert missions were tantalising. She couldn't really see Wally being covert, though. She could, however, picture him running out of fuel in a small village somewhere in China and begging an old lady for a bowl of rice. But still….

"I know Wally could also speak Japanese, Italian and Portuguese, and he learned Afrikaans two years ago when his family went to South Africa, for a wedding, but because he doesn't practice, he quickly lost his fluency. His brain is like a sponge. A superfast, superabsorbent sponge that can soak up a lot of info in a small amount of time, but if he doesn't use it every day, the info ' _drains'_ away just as quickly. He has to actively maintain the languages he wants to keep, so he makes a point of practicing them whenever he can."

"Okay, that explains the Mandarin, Spanish, French, German and whatever other two languages-"

"Three. Hindi, Arabic and Swahili."

"-he spoke, but what about Vietnamese? And Atlantean could be used for diplomatic reasons, but we literally only have two Martians on Earth- Oh, never mind that last one. He probably just wanted to get into M'gann's good graces." She ended up huffing.

Robin frowned. "He actually thinks his ridiculous flirting works, so no. It's not just to impress a girl." He paused. "Let me put it this way: He only learned Atlantean when we formed the team, Martian only because of M'gann, and how many people do you know who speaks Irish? But when KF found out my real identity, his brain somehow jumped to the conclusion that I was Irish. So, under the false delusion that I am Irish, he learned it. And if Superboy could speak Kryptonian, he'd be pestering the poor guy to teach him. Do you see the pattern?"

Artemis stifled the urge to rub at her eyes. She really was not in the mood for puzzles. "Irish?" Maybe Robin's real surname was Mac-something. She couldn't really imagine any other reason for Kid to conclude that Robin was Irish. But that wasn't the issue right now.

 _Focus_. Martian for M'gann, Irish for Robin and he would know Kryptonian if Superboy spoke it. He learned Atlantean when the Team was founded because he knew he'd be interacting with Kaldur daily. An idea niggled at the back of her mind, clawing at misty curtains of sleep deprivation to be heard. That would mean… the Vietnamese….

Oh.

 _Oh!_ Artemis' eyes widened in surprise, shock and yes, admittedly, a fraction of delight. "He learns the first languages of his team members!"

Robin grinned at her. "No, _friends._ I believe that in Wally's mind, learning the native language of somebody is the best way of making them a part of his 'internal' family. It is a bit of a roundabout way of doing it, but welcome to the weird, wacky and wonderful world of a speedster's logic."

Talk about dropping an emotional bomb. "Well… that's nice." It was a lame response. Artemis was sure that Robin saw straight through it. Her only hope was that he didn't know absolutely _everything_ about her... and her past.

"I'm actually kind of sad Superboy doesn't know Kryptonian, 'cause that would have been a funny thing to see," he joked, and Artemis could not imagine what would be worse; Wally pestering Superboy, who would undoubtedly refuse, or Wally trying to get Super _man_ to teach him. "I don't understand the Vietnamese, though. Sorry."

Artemis settled on an expression she hoped was somewhere between disinterest and thoughtfulness. She wasn't too sure how that would look, but it was better than showing the utter relief she was feeling at the knowledge that Robin did _not_ know everything about her. "Maybe his family plans on vacationing in Vietnam. More coffee?"

"Maybe," Robin mused. "And yes, that would be great."

Grateful for the chance to get away and have a second to collect her thoughts, she headed towards the kitchen. "Coffee, Zatanna?" She called out over her shoulder. If she'd bothered to look back, she might have seen the little troll shaking with silent laughter, thoroughly entertained by his teammates' obliviousness.

"Yes, please!"

Suddenly, a bleep from the main computer echoed throughout the cave.

DETECTED – ACCESS REQUEST – FAWCETT CITY: DENIED

She cast a suspicious glance towards the portal entrance.

Behind her, Robin muttered to himself, "That's weird. Someone's trying to access the watcht- … chamacallit. Who-"

DETECTED – ACCESS REQUEST: OVERRIDE – FAWCETT CITY: DENIED

"-the hell?"

Leaving the Boy Wonder to deal with whoever or whatever was trying to access the cave since all the Justice League affiliated heroes under eighteen were accounted for, Artemis trusted her feet to remember the way to the kitchen Her mind was far too busy, twirling and spinning the same thought over and over. _He learned it for her. For her. He learned Vietnamese_ _ **for her.**_

Had Wally really learned Vietnamese just for her? Her chest felt too small and too warm.

 _Family._ That's what Robin had said. A part of her, the little girl who'd been abandoned one too many times, poked at the word with distrust. And another part, the daughter of a homicidal maniac, bared her teeth in denial.

But most of her, the person she was slowly becoming, clung to the word like a life raft.

Contrary to what she'd always believed, she clearly could choose her own family. She was surrounded by living, breathing proof. And anyway, it seemed they'd already made the decision for her.

From cookies to static to a leader's approval. From secrets to jokes to basic survival. Through death and sacrifice. They had all chosen her and she was sure as hell going to choose them back. This was _her_ odds-and-ends, quilted-together, little family. And wrath be upon anyone, upon _anything_ , willing to threaten what was hers.

* * *

 ***Unfortunately, I do not know Mandarin, Hindi, Arabic or Swahili, so I used Google translate (the horror!). If you can correct me, please do - I hate it when people butcher my languages, so please don't hesitate - I'll correct it asap.**

 **I chose Irish because there is a relatively large Irish community in America (infamously connected to their own gangs and mob, if you want to go together), Grayson is definitely Northern Europe, Haly (as in Haly's circus) could definitely be Irish, and Mary, John, and Richard are all really standard English names. Don't know how Wally jumped to that conclusion, but he's always struck me as overeager. And come on, Wally's a red-head. If I were him, I'd learn it just to mess with people who stereotype me. ;)**

 **Thanks for reading.**


End file.
